India hire Sri Lankan throwdown specialist to counter left-arm threat

India will have an additional hand helping them out at the Asia Cup in Dubai. It would be the left hand of Nuwan Seneviratne, a throwdown specialist from Sri Lanka, who has played two first-class matches. The idea behind hiring Seneviratne is to primarily counter several left-arm fast bowlers the Indian batsmen will face in the six-nation Asia Cup, which gets underway from Saturday.

India already have a throwdown specialist in Raghavindraa, popularly known as Raghu, who has been credited by many Indian batsmen, including Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, for his high-intensity pitches.

Twenty-year-old left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed is part of India's squad in the Asia Cup, but they have not found a long-term left-arm prospect yet. Hence, the Indian think-tank felt they needed assistance from. Seneviratne

In last year's Champions Trophy final, Pakistan's new-ball pair of Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan tormented India in a one-sided match. Amir packed off India's top three - Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli - while Junaid dismissed Ravindra Jadeja in a match India lost by 180 runs.

Pakistan have four left-arm quicks in their squad in Amir, Junaid, Usman Khan and Shaheen Afridi; Bangladesh have two left-arm seamers in Abu Hider and Mustafizur Rahman while Afghanistan have one in Sayed Shirzad .

Seneviratne could also help India prepare for the Australia tour where Mitchell Starc is likely to be a dominant force with the ball.